Wesleyan women qualify for main event

MIDDLETOWN -- A sure sign that impending victory for the Wesleyan woman's basketball team is the first time senior forward Liz Walsh smiles.

SEAN P. REILLY

Published 12:00 am, Sunday, February 22, 2004

That occasion came at 6:04 of the second half as Walsh, playing in the final home game of her career, was egregiously fouled under the Wesleyan basket by a Middlebury defender. As is her trademark, Walsh flashed teammate Amy Posocco an ear-to-ear grin that seemed to indicate both confidence and relief.

After competing with the Cardinals for all but the last five minutes of Saturday's quarterfinal game of the NESCAC tournament at Alumni gymnasium, the Panthers of Middlebury could hold on no longer and fell to Wesleyan 66-53 before a rowdy crowd of 250.

Wesleyan (20-3) now heads to the home of the top seed in the tournament, Bowdoin of Maine, for the semifinal round to be played next weekend. Coach Kate Mullen's club will take on Bates College in one semifinal while the number one woman's team in the latest Division III poll, Bowdoin, will play Williams College in the other contest. Times for those games will be determined later in the week.

Middlebury (11-12, 3-7 in the conference) certainly didn't play like a .500 team while the Cardinals struggled for much of the afternoon.

"The long layoff hurt us," Mullen said. "We played a team that prepared well for us. They're a very patterned club. That's why the NESCAC is such a great conference. You never, ever can think a game is a cakewalk."

Coming into the game riding a six game winning streak and having defeated Middlebury at home on Feb. 6 by a score of 70-57, the visitors came out in the first half with an upset firmly planted in their minds. Panthers junior guard Elyse Carlson (game-high 21 points including five 3-pointers) scored six of Middlebury's first eight points. They led 11-8 at 14:06 as four consecutive field goal attempts for the home team went in and out, resulting in zero points. The lead changed hands five times in a span of six minutes and 30 seconds. Wesleyan sophomore Ashley Mastrangelo hit a duece at 5:30 of the first to knot the score at 20.

Mullen was unimpressed with her club's performance in the opening half.

"We went one for seven on 3-point attempts in the first," she said. "That was unacceptable. We needed Hannah (Stubbs) to touch the ball more."

The Wesleyan squad went into the halftime locker room down by one, 29-28. The home crowd seemed on edge and Mullen sensed that her team needed some motivation.

"Number 23 (Carlson, 14 first half points) was killing us and that had to stop," she stated. "We also had to get the ball inside more. Those were the nice things I said in the locker room, the rest wasn't."

Whatever else that was conveyed gave her Cardinals the impetus to play a much more stylish brand of basketball in the second half. Mullen's contingent went up by five, 40-35 at 15:05 of the second as Nora Bowman (five points) nailed a trey from 20 feet. The Vermont visitors refused to go away, getting back within one, 46-45 at the 10:09 mark as 6 foot 1 forward Alexis Hollinger hit a mid-range jumper over the oustretched arms of Walsh.

"This team (Middlebury) had new life today," Mullen said. "They were 0-0 and had a clean slate. That's why there's tapes and VCRs. They scouted us well."

Wesleyan finally began to assert itself in the final seven minutes of the game as Amy Posocco (12 points, five boards) put her Cardinal team up by seven, 53-46 with her second 3-pointer of the afternoon. Suffield Academy product Kate Shillo, The Panthers only real inside threat, picked up her fifth foul with 2:02 to play and effectively gave her opponents the game. Wesleyan padded its lead with six free throws down the stretch.

"We were lucky to only be down one at the half," Mullen commented. "I have no idea who we're going to play next, but whoever it is, we'll be prepared and hopefully play better than we did in today's first half."

Sean P. Reilly can be reached at sreilly@middletownpress.com or at 860-347-3331 ext. 217.